Hyrbid Au One-shots
by ZaneBoi
Summary: Heyaaa so this is just a series of one-shots I'm gonna do that revolve around the Hybrid Au, cause there is not enough of that on the internet. Full summary inside. (RATED T BECAUSE IM PARANOID) (CROSS POSTING ON WATTPAD AND AO3)
1. Chapter 1

Heyaaa so this is just a series of one-shots I'm gonna do that revolve around the Hybrid Au, cause there is not enough of that on the internet. Anyways I have seen many versions of this where they are different animals so here are my Au animals:

Zane: falcon

Cole: Bear

Jay: cat

Kai: wolf (clique I know... sorry)

Nya: fox

Lloyd: dragon

And Sensei Wu is a human. So since I have absolutely no idea what to do I am always open to suggestions and requests. So if you have an idea that you might like to see please let me know :) however I will not do any serious ships. I am fine with bro-fluff and just bonding but no kissing, bad language, etc. (also side note Zane isn't a nindroid in this Au since he is a halfling

Whoever reads through all of this... good job here is a cookie (::)

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Chapter 1: Flying lessons

Summary: It is that time of a dragon's life where he learns to fly, luckily Lloyd has someone as awesome as Zane to teach him.

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Lloyd stared down from the Bounty's edge and gulped nervously. They were currently up above the clouds by one of Ninjago's many mountains. They had come to this solitary location for a specific reason, to train Lloyd.

The ninja where trying their hardest to keep their true race secret from the general public. This meant a lot of awkward bandages trying to keep their animal additions hidden. It was usually easiest with Cole, because of his smaller ears and tail. For Jay it was harder to conceal his tail, which seemed to have a mind of it's own. With Kai pretty much everything was hard to hide. His larger ears and thicker tail had to have layers of bandages and sports tape to lay semi-flat against his body. And Zane's big bulky wings were a nightmare. It took several belts and almost a whole role of bandages to get them to lay uncomfortably flat against his back. Luckily Lloyd's wings weren't fully grown so his were easier to hide, along with his horns that were so small at the moment they were already hidden under the blond mop of hair. Lloyd's tail however was becoming a problem. He now had to wrap it around his torso and hold it down with bandages just like the others.

It is harder to fight like a bandaged mummy, but to hide their traits and keep the public's trust it has to be done. It wasn't much of a secret that humans didn't particularly like hybrids. Riots would break out to chase out all the hybrids in towns. Some even going as far as "exterminating" the hybrids on sight.

This is why Lloyd needs to properly learn to defend himself especially if he were to ever get discovered as a hybrid.

Zane stepped out onto the deck of the bounty along with Kai, Cole, and Jay.

"Hey kiddo ready to start training?" Cole said ruffling the smaller child's hair as he passed Lloyd.

"Yeah I guess... but you never told me what we were doing today." Lloyd walked over the weapons rack to pick out his favorite sword, before kai's hand pushed him away from the weapon and put it back on the rack.

"You wont be needing these today, Lloyd." Kai smirked making the youngest even more confused.

"Today's training is gonna be a bit different" Jay said budding in the trademark smile on his face.

"How so..." Lloyd said cautiously.

"Well today your going to learn how to fly properly" Zane smiled obviously proud that he had the honor to teach the young dragon.

"Wait? What?" Lloyd said confused. "But I already can fly!"

Cole raised an eyebrow. "really now?"

Lloyd's cheeks turned a bright red in embarrassment "w-well ya"

"Then why don't you demonstrate that for us?" Kai chuckled thinking Lloyd would back down and admit he indeed did not know how to fly.

Lloyd marched right over to the roof of the bounty facing the deck. Everyone was still watching with amusement as he puffed his chest and ran to jump off the roof, but at the last second stopped at the very edge.

Flailing his arms trying to keep balanced, Lloyd made a panicked screech Falling off the side where a half laughing Cole caught him.

"shut up..." Lloyd jumped out of Cole's arms, his checks burning with embarrassment.

"And... that is why todays lesson is flying" Zane appeared behind Lloyd and walked him over to the edge of the bounty. "You know, I was taught to fly by being shoved off of a high cliff"

Lloyd gave him his best "what the heck?" look as immediately scampered away from Zane's hold and hid behind Kai with a squeak.

Zane simply just chuckled, "That doesn't mean that's how I am going to teach you Lloyd."

"Welp! Have fun you two!" Jay said as he started to head back inside the bounty closely followed by Cole and Kai.

"Wait! Your not seriously gonna leave me alone with this maniac are you?!" Lloyd whined looking like he was gonna pass out "He is gonna try to throw me off the deck!"

The others smiled and laughed at Lloyd's sudden caution towards Zane.

"It'll be fine Lloyd, Zane isn't going to throw you off of the Bounty." Cole reassured the panicked child "We will be back in an hour or so to check up on you two, have fun!"

The three ninja left Lloyd and Zane alone on the deck of the flying ship. Lloyd looked at the edge of the railing with caution and quietly shuffled over there. Of course he would never admit it, but Lloyd had a fear of heights. Hence his inability to fly up to this point.

"All right Lloyd" Zane said walking over to the spot Lloyd was looking at the clouds below them. "though I will not be throwing you off of any ships the only way to learn to fly is by trail and error."

"What does that mean?" Lloyd looked up at Zane with a questioning glare.

"Well the saying 'trail by error' implies that you must try to accomplish the task you are trying to do, and you will learn how to do it better by the mistakes you made while doing so."

"ah okay... so how are we gonna do that?"

"like this" Zane suddenly swooped Lloyd into his arms and ran down the deck of the Bounty and took off to the skies. His wings snapped out from their previous resting state and started gliding upwards.

"WOAAH" Lloyd gave a startled yelp as he was almost flung into the sky, thinking at first that Zane did indeed throw him off of the Bounty he started screaming, only to realize that he was being held up by that same person. They were gently gliding down the side of the mountain. The view from this angle was particularly beautiful and Lloyd couldn't help but smile a little at this.

"this... this is kinda nice." Lloyd gave a nervous laugh.

"Indeed, I particularly like to use these methods of calming one's mind." Zane gave a puff of agreement and continued steering them down towards the clearing in the valley of the mountain.

Lloyd looked up from his cradled spot in Zane's arms. Zane's chocolate brown wings with white tips were flowing lightly in the wind, usually being held out, they gave a powerful stroke every now and then.

They finally reached the ground where Zane put out his feet in front of him and almost angelically floated down. Giving his wings a last flap he folded them back into their resting pose.

Zane set Lloyd down. Lloyd unfolded his own green dragon wings and looked at Zane's large powerful ones.

Zane almost reading his mind commented with a "It's not about the size of the wings that make you fly, Lloyd." He knelt down to be eye level with the smaller dragon hybrid. "its about the strength one puts into those wings"

Lloyd gave a determined nod "so how do we start."

"The first thing I want you to try is gliding." Zane said pointing to a large bolder not to high off the ground with other rocks around it almost like a natural staircase. "it will help you get the feel of being in the air but at the same time you wont have to focus on flying upward."

Lloyd was already making his way up the rocks before Zane could even finish his sentence. He desperately wanted to get these lessons over with so he would just be able to fly already. Lloyd reached the top of the rock where he stood at the edge and unfurled his wings.

Seeing Lloyd was hesitant Zane called to him "It's okay Lloyd if you fall I will be here to catch you."

Lloyd seemed to find a new sense of confidence, He backed up a bit before running off the edge of the rock flapping his wings as hard as he could. He tried his best but at the very least all he did was slow down his descend.

Zane was there right where he said he would be to catch Lloyd. He smiled looking down at the angry hybrid child in his arms.

"I thought you said that would work?" Lloyd puffed angrily before jumping out of the Falcon hybrid's arms and dusting himself off.

"I never said such a thing." Zane snickered, pulling a stick out of Lloyd's hair. "I said that you will learn through mistakes, they are bound to be made."

Lloyd gave another angry sigh. Stupid Zane and his logic. "Fine lets try this again."

And again.

And again.

And again.

And again.

Before Lloyd finally sat down at the edge of the rock and pouted. "this isn't working!" He folded his legs up to his chest to hug them.

Zane walked over calmly as ever and sat down next to Lloyd. "It's not working because your not trying"

Lloyd looked over so fast he might have given himself whiplash. "What do you mean I'm not trying?!" He sounded hurt "I literally just threw myself off of a rock 5 times"

Zane sighed. "That's not what I mean. You are jumping off of a rock, yes, but you aren't believing you can." Looking at the confused expression on Lloyd's face, he explained more "Your mind set is that 'you are going to fail' you aren't believing you can actually succeed."

"wh-wha- Am too!" Lloyd stuttered obviously fed up with flying.

Zane sighed yet again and was quiet for a moment, contemplating what the best course of action would be from here "Come on Lloyd lets take a break, we can try again in a little bi-"

"NO!" Lloyd stood up awfully fast surprising Zane. "I'M GONNA FLY AND IF THAT MEANS JUMPING OFF THAT CLIFF SO BE IT!"

"Lloyd that isn't a good idea you could be hur-" Zane stood up hastily ready to intervene.

Lloyd ran off towards the cliff before Zane could stop him. He knew it wasn't the smartest thing to do, but just like Zane said, He learned by getting shoved off of a cliff. Maybe if Lloyd did the same he would fly.

Zane was close behind Lloyd trying desperately to get the young dragon to stop before he hurt himself, But the little rascal was just too fast for the older teen. "Lloyd stop this instant!"

Lloyd continued run and jumping up the mountain to get to the large rock that stood just over a crevasse. He didn't even stop as he came to the top of the rock and immediately jumped off, and also immediately regretted it. His wings where working overtime trying to flap to stop his descend onto the rocky bottom bellow.

Zane watched Lloyd's figure disappear below the rock. With no hesitation Zane jumped right after him, locking his wings flat against his back into a nose dive to catch up to the dragon who fell before him.

Lloyd had given up flying a while ago and had put his arms in front of his face to hide his view of the rocks that were fast approaching. Zane right on his tail, folding his wings in even tighter to gain more speed.

Seemingly at the last moment, Zane caught Lloyd in his arms. Knowing there was no time to successfully pull up without breaking his wings, He hugged tight onto Lloyd, putting the smaller child on top of himself so he would not be hurt as badly. Zane pulled out his wings to hopefully take most of the impact from the ground.

On impact the sickening crunch of a bone breaking was heard barely over the pained grunts of them both rolling to a stop with Lloyd laying on top of Zane, His face deeply burrowed into the older teen's chest.

Lloyd groaned before carefully lifting himself off the older teen. He rubbed his hand through his messy dust coated hair, before opening his eyes. Lloyd took in the sight of Zane sprawled out under him. Zane's arms still tightly hugged around Lloyd, legs parted, and gi dirtied and torn in some places. The thing that unsettled Lloyd the most was his left wing. It was bent at an awkward angle and even under the feathers, Lloyd could see splotches of blood that were slowly pooling on the ground.

Lloyd in a slight panic started shaking Zane's shoulders. "Zane?!"

He didn't stop shaking until the older teen let out a pained groaned. Zane shifted a bit before trying to sit up.

"Hold still." Lloyd advised putting a hand on the falcon hybrid's chest to keep him from moving any more. "you just fell off a cliff and look pretty hurt I don't think you should get up yet."

"I... I'm fine." Zane protested. He again tried to get up this time Lloyd hesitantly letting him.

Zane put a hand to the back of his head and winced before bringing his hand back coated in a warm, red, sticky substance.

Lloyd gasped at the sight and immediately tried to get Zane to lie back down. "You- you're head! It's bleeding!"

"It-" Zane coughed a bit, still dizzy from the fall but no longer trying to get back up "It's okay Lloyd head wounds always look worse then they actually are, I'm sure its just a tiny cut."

"We need to get you back up to the Bounty." Lloyd said reaching into his pocket for his phone. His hand came back empty. Lloyd looking puzzled pat himself down looking for his phone only to realize he left it in his room to charge during training. "SHOOT! I left my phone on the ship! Can I use yours?"

"I left mine as well. I usually don't use it except for when we are going into town." Zane gasped out, obviously in a bit of pain.

"Then how are we supposed to tell them to come get us?!" Lloyd started to panic. If the team didn't know they needed help, then Lloyd wouldn't be able to get Zane the medical attention he clearly needed. The others said they would check up on them in an hour or so, so presumably right before their lunch break. They had only been down here training for 30 minutes so even if they waited, the rest of the ninja may not show up till another hour to an hour and a half. That is a long time to bleed.

"Like I said, it'll be okay, Lloyd" Zane encouraged the young dragon. "All we can do is wait for them to check up on us. I will be okay till then."

"We can't wait that long! Your bleeding and we can't just sit around in the sun for an hour!" Lloyd said getting up and dusting himself off.

"Lloyd-" Zane tried to get up but was cut off by a gasp of pain. Yep, his left wing was definitely broken. How did he not notice earlier? Now that the Falcon hybrid had time to think about it, his head was really fuzzy. Everything seemed like it was put on slow motion while someone repeatedly hit his head with a sludge hammer. He was also really dizzy and nauseous.

"Are you okay!?" Lloyd ran right back to his side to help him sit up without moving his wing too much.

"Yeah,... yeah I'm fine." Zane said hesitantly, his hands scrubbing at his eyes to try and wipe the blurriness away. He was propped up against a rock, that he was lucky he didn't land on. If he had landed even a foot closer to his left, Zane would have definitely broke his back on the slightly pointed top of the rock.

"I've got an idea..." Lloyd said aloud sitting in front of Zane cross-legged. "if I can climb back up the top of the mountain I should be high enough to glide to the Bounty."

"Lloyd that's crazy!" Zane immediately protested. "The mountain is extremely slippery, and if you fall from that height you would die on impact!"

"That's why I won't slip" Lloyd sounded like a child with his comeback.

"Lloyd I won't be there to catch you, what if you get hurt?"

"That's just it! I need to do this because I don't want anyone there to catch me! This is all my fault if I wasn't in such a rush to fly then you would have never gotten hurt." Lloyd rambled. "Now I need to fix my mistakes and if that means climbing up that mountain and possibly dying in the process then I'm okay with that!"

"Lloyd you don't need to risk your life we can just wait here for the others" Zane sounded extremely worried.

"but if I stay here then I would be risking your life." Lloyd protested "the longer we stay here the more blood you loose."

Lloyd got up to walk away when Zane quickly grabbed his hand.

"stay safe..." Zane whispers, skeptical about this whole ordeal.

"Always" Lloyd replied with a reassuring smile, before walking off out of Zane's eyesight to the walls of the crevasse.

Zane never remembered falling asleep, but the next thing he new he was waking up in his bed. Zane stirred silently bringing up his hand to his head to find it was tightly wrapped in bandages. He groaned a bit sitting himself up. His room was dark with all the lights off. There was no light coming through his blinds so Zane assumed it was either really late or really early. The past day's events returned to his memory, and he immediately jumped out of bed in a panic. He regret it the second his foot touched the floor. The Falcon felt dizzy and had to grasp the side of his bed rail in order not to fall over. He was also slightly aware that one of his wings where tightly bandaged and unable to move. He didn't care too much about his own injuries at the moment however, Zane was mainly worried about Lloyd and his well-being.

Leaning against the walls for support, Zane made his way to the Control room of the Bounty. Even if it was late/early some one was bound to be up whether it be Jay and Nya making slight repairs, or Cole just reading. He creaked open the sliding door and looked into the surprisingly crowded room. Everyone was still awake, Except for Sensei Wu. Zane didn't blame him though, the man was getting much older and had a habit of falling asleep early. Everyone had yet to take notice of his arrival and were instead focused on their hushed conversation. With concentration Zane could make out that they were talking about what happened with Lloyd. Zane did a quick check over on the boy and was relieved to find nothing other than a few band-aids.

It wasn't until Lloyd looked up and met Zane's eyes at the back of the room and called out his name.

"Zane!" Everyone looked back and saw the blonde standing there, still keeping a tight grip on the door to steady himself

"Zane you shouldn't be up!" Cole rushed over to take Zane's arm allowing him to put his weight on the stronger earth ninja.

"I am aware of that, but I wanted to make sure Lloyd was okay."

"Don't worry Zane I'm okay." Lloyd smiled and went in to hug the taller man around the waist.

"You shoulda' seen him, flew all the way up to the bounty." Kai said swelling with pride.

"I thought you said you were going to glide?" Zane became worried and looked down at Lloyd.

"It was taking too long to get to the top, by the time I got up there the others would have come to check on us." Lloyd shrugged.

"We were really worried for a while there" Nya chuckled nervously beside Jay.

"Ya, by the time we got down there you were completely out." Jay added.

"It's getting late we should probably all get to bed, we can talk more about this tomorrow." Cole said, starting to guide Zane to his room so he wouldn't fall over. "You are gonna need a lot of rest to get over that concussion."

Zane chuckled a bit before letting Cole take him back to his room where he fell asleep before he hit the pillow.

It wasn't a good day per say, but good things did come out of it. After all Lloyd did learn how to fly and that was the goal from the beginning of the day. They just didn't expect it would take a few broken bones along the way.


	2. Chapter 2: Cooking with Cole

Welcome to the second chapter of the Hybrid AU one-shots!

Thanks so much for the votes and views so far I really appreciate it, feel free to suggest anything in the comments and if you see any grammar mistakes please let me know.

Chapter 2: Cooking with Cole

Summary: It's Cole's night to cook dinner, usually this means after an hour or two of mixing random substances Nya puts out a fire and they order pizza. However Zane has offered to help Cole cook a "decent" meal. It doesn't exactly go as they planned.

Cole was in the Kitchen putting on an apron and washing his hands as Zane strolled in casually. They wordlessly prepped the kitchen, wiping down counters taking out important ingredients and a cookbook.

"Alright Cole, since it is your night I will let you pick out the recipe." Zane said handing the open book to an eager Cole.

"Hmmmm..." Cole hummed as he flipped through the book. 'the spaghetti looks good... but so does the fried rice bowl...' He thought.

This is gonna be the meal that everyone will like, No fires, no burnt food, and no getting sick for a week afterwards. It has to be perfect... After a few more minutes of debating Cole picked the spaghetti, not just because last time he tried to pan-fry something he burnt off his eyebrows, but it would be easier and fitting for a practice meal.

"This one!" Cole said pointing to the page with the recipe in big bold letters saying " **Tomato Based Spaghetti with Garlic and Fettuccine** "

"Good choice!" Zane praised, already getting out the necessary ingredients to make the noodles and sauce.

Everything was going fairly well. Zane was letting Cole do most of the cooking, only budding in every so often to stop him from straying away from the recipe. So far the noodles were boiling and the ground beef was done cooking and was currently being mixed with the tomato paste.

"We should add something sweet to balance it out like sugar!" Cole said running to the cupard where the sugar was kept.

Luckily Zane reaching out to grab his arm stopping him from going any further. "Does the recipe call for sugar?" Zane asked.

"Well... No..." Cole said a bit awkwardly. His cheeks were tinted pink in embarrassment, and his ears flattened against his curly hair.

"Then do you think it's a good idea to add it?" Zane said with a hint of amusement.

"No..." Cole mumbled before returning to the pot of sauce to stir some more.

Zane chucked a bit before going back to the noodles, lifting the lid every so often to check on them.

It was quiet for a few minutes. Both not knowing how to further a conversation. They had been awkward around each other lately. Cole didn't mean to avoid Zane like he did, it's just Zane seemed like he felt uncomfortable around him lately. Cole would just strike up a conversation randomly and the blonde would jump at his touch, startled. Cole felt a little bad, he hadn't meant to scare the falcon hybrid. This went on for several weeks, Cole walks into a room and Zane would instantly stiffen or become jittery, a very not-Zane-like action.

Cole unknowingly was staring at said hybrid as he thought about their relationship recently. Zane was glancing his way every so often with flushed cheeks, checking if he had stopped the uncomfortable staring.

"Uh... everything okay?" Zane's voice shook Cole from his train of thought and realized what he was doing.

"Oh!" He jumped back from his current spot leaning on the counter. "Yeah! Yeah... I uh didn't mean to.. uhh..."

Zane started fidgeting which signaled to Cole that he was uncomfortable and nervous.

'Way to go Cole' He scolded himself 'The first real interaction you have had in weeks and you go and blow it'

Zane suddenly didn't want to be here. He couldn't explain it, but whenever he was around Cole he felt so... weird? He was lightheaded and he had butterflies in his stomach. Zane was never good at recognizing his emotions, they were like trying to understand a foreign language. So his solution to this weird feeling? Avoid the source. It was more of subconsciously, he would never try to avoid someone purposefully. That's just plain rude.

Cole needed to fix this. He didn't know what was going on but he wanted it to stop. Zane was his world. he would never admit to it, but he admired Zane very much. Just the way his icy blue eyes would light up whenever he was doing something he loved. The way his chocolate brown wings would ruffle every so often. Especially the way his song would fill the Bounty in the mornings. As a bird Zane had a prone to whistling or singing while he was doing his tasks, no body had a problem with this because of his beautiful voice. It was so smooth and relaxing, of course if anyone where to tell him this, Zane would turn as red as a tomato and deny it without question.

Cole looked over to see that Zane wasn't even paying attention and the water was boiling over. "Uhh... Zane?"

"Yes?" He snapped out of his daze and looked down at the pot that was dripping boiling water everywhere and the slightly over boiled noodles. He gave a startled noise that sounded a lot like a "Squaawww"

Zane immediately covered his mouth, face turning red at what ungodly noise he just made. Cole just stared for a second.. and then burst out laughing. Zane joined in too.

Cole hugged his aching chest and fell to the ground, as a dying Zane tried to turn off the stove, but could barely breathe. Cole continued to roll on the floor and Zane, eyes tearing up from laughter almost fell over to join him. Cole was almost surprised, he had never seen Zane laugh so hard in his life. At most the bird would give a hearty chuckle at something he thought was amusing, but this, full out laughing his lungs out was something entirely unheard of. The Bear didn't really care that much though because Zane was having a good time and he didn't want to interrupt that.

Zane finally managed to collect himself enough to stand up straight without completely falling over, and Cole's laughter was coming to an end. Honestly these were the best moments they have had in a couple of weeks (slight awkwardness aside). Zane wiped his teary eyes and turned to the stove to collect the fallen spices. Cole got himself off the ground and dusted himself off before turning to the slightly overcooked noodles.

A few moments of silence were ensured as they continued the task they had previously abandoned. Cole wanted to finally ask Zane what was up, they were finally talking to each other again and he didn't want to waste this time. The bear hybrid noticed the avoidance that he had been given. Perhaps Zane was mad at something he did, it wouldn't be the first time the bird didn't vocalize his thoughts. One time Zane had gotten so mad at Kai because he kept plucking Zane's feathers when he least expected it. Kinda like a scare game except instead of poking, you're just plucking out someones feathers that are literally attached to them. It had really annoyed Zane but he didn't want to confront Kai about it and it lead to Kai sneaking up on him during training and accidentally getting kicked in the face. Zane had broken Kai's nose and he felt so bad and apologized for weeks.

Cole finally worked up the courage to turn to Zane, "Hey Frosty?"

"Yes Cole?" The bird hybrid replied.

"Are you...mad... at me?" Cole said with hesitance, he immediately regretted starting this conversation.

Zane just stared blankly for a few seconds. "No? What would give you that impression?"

Cole was almost relieved, 'At least he's not mad at me...' He continued, "Well it's just... you've been a bit distant lately, I just feel like we haven't even talked to each other in a week..."

Zane stared again, it was kinda starting to creep Cole out. "oh." He replied with. Another few seconds of silence as they just stared at each other. "I did not realize i had been avoiding you, it was unintentional. I apologize" Zane looked away and poured the sauce mixture in with the noodles.

That confirmed it, something was up. If Cole knew one thing about Zane it's that he always keeps eye contact if he is speaking, the only reason he would look away is if he was embarrassed, ashamed, or he didn't want you to know something.

Cole narrowed his eyes as he watched Zane finish up the spaghetti, everyone was probably wondering why dinner was taking so long. They could wait though he needed to finish this conversation.

Zane reached up for the cabinets and brought down several plates, and got out silverware for the table. Cole still stared and watched, it was making the bird hybrid slightly uncomfortable again. (this conversation is just a roller coaster isn't it)

Zane exited the small kitchen area to go set the table in the connected dinning room. He was suspicious of the silence that remained in the kitchen as he set the table for dinner. The bird hybrid paused before entering the kitchen, it was still silent. He walked in and didn't see Cole anywhere. He looked around in a bit of a panic before something grabbed him from the back and pinned his arms to the side.

Zane was startled and let out a small scream, not loud enough for the entire ship to hear but definitely louder than Zane's usual tone.

The mystery person behind him chuckled a bit and The Blonde instantly knew who it was. Cole laughed a bit as Zane relaxed and let out a bit of a chuckle of his own.

"God Cole don't scare me like that." Zane laughed as Cole kept his grip around the smaller bird hybrid.

"Sorry Frosty, couldn't help myself" Cole spent a few moments in the bear hug he had around Zane (haha pun). "So you ready to tell me what's wrong?"

"You're not going to let me go until i do, are you." Zane said as a statement instead of a question.

"Not a chance." Cole laughed a bit as Zane did a face palm, well as best of a face palm you can do with your hands pinned to your side by an over-sized man-bear.

Zane ruffled his feathers and kept quiet, still refusing to give in just yet. They just stood there for several minutes, each refusing to give up.

The bird hybrid finally sighed and went slack in Cole's grip. "I really am fine, Cole. Its just... complicated" He mumbled in a low voice.

"Well I got time, explain it to me." Cole said in an urging tone trying to get the usually secluded ninja to open up. He released the bird and sat down on the floor patting the spot next to him for Zane to come sit down. Reluctantly, he did.

"Even I don't understand it completely, its just..." Zane hesitated before continuing. "I have a hard time coming to terms with my emotions and what I'm feeling... It's stupid really. I just haven't really felt myself recently... I've been more... reserved? I don't know..."

Cole listened intently as Zane poured out his feelings, the food was probably starting to get cold but he didn't care.

"I just feel... different when I'm with you..." Zane said and realized a second too late it sounded really creepy. "I mean like-"

Cole cut him off by placing a hand on the falcon hyrbid's shoulder. Cole's ears were perked up more and he seemed happy. "I get what you mean." He smiled.

They just stared at each other in understanding, no more words were needed between them.

"Hey is dinner ready ye-" Jay slams open the door and pauses when he looks at the bear and falcon hybrid just sitting on the floor with Cole's arm wrapped around him.

"..."

Jay slams the door shut and Cole immediately stands up to go after him. "WAIT NO JAY IT'S NOT WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE!"

Cole runs off and Zane is left alone in the messy kitchen with a pot of cold spaghetti. The falcon smiles and turns on the stove to heat the food up again before serving it to the rest of the ship.

Sure the simple spaghetti dinner didn't go as the blonde had planned, but in the end it turned out to be something better.


	3. Chapter 3: Punishment

Hello again, welcome to another chapter uwu

again feel free to comment any suggestions and i do not have a proof reader for this book so if you find any grammar mistakes please let me know.

also these are turning into a bunch of zane chapters... because he is my favorite... if you couldnt tell. so he is just gonna keep getting hurt until someone suggests some other character because Zane and Cole forever baby!

Chapter 3: Punishment

Summary: Lloyd learns first hand the dangers of being a hybrid-in-disguise

Warning: There is gonna be some blood in this one so if that's not your cup of tea, I would advise not to read this, also some very minor swearing

after Zane's broken wing has been completely healed, the ninja decided that Lloyd should continue with the flying lessons as another part of his training. Of course they all decided to keep contact often and check in every 30 minutes in case something went wrong. Lloyd also promised to not do anything crazy again.

Today's lesson had put them in the forest outside of a traditional village. The village was fairly large and wasn't too far away from Ninjago City. The village had already made its standings on the Hybrid feud clear. They despised them. Any Hybrid found within the village gates would be killed and/or beaten. The forest was big and the villagers rarely ventured too far so the ninja declared it safe territory to practice their hybrid abilities in. Not like they had many other places to choose from.

Zane and Lloyd were currently gliding through the thick brush of trees. Zane had chosen this spot in particular for reflex training. When flying it was important to be able to adapt to your surroundings and be able to dodge an object at moments notice. Zane was letting Lloyd follow his own path while he watched from beside him. Lloyd was a little shaky at first but these lessons have really been paying off. Lloyd could now fly as high as the cloud-line and was improving on speed each lesson.

The small dragon flew right dodging another tree trunk. the tips of his wings skimmed the leaves on a branch a little, but he didn't run straight into them, so he considered it a full dodge.

They continued with this process of flying through the thick branches until Zane had decided Lloyd deserved a break. They flew down to the ground and Zane had checked in with the rest of the ninja letting them know they are okay and will be heading back soon.

"Good job, Lloyd!" Zane praised, "You have improved so much and I'm very proud of you."

"Awww thanks Zane." Lloyd smiled.

Lloyd had expected it but Zane tackled him to the ground. Lloyd was about to protest before he saw the arrow on the ground where his feet were just moments ago.

"An arrow?" Lloyd asked as Zane got off of him but kept low as to blend in with the brush.

"It is from the village." Zane clarified looking to see the enemies position. He couldn't take off with Lloyd until he knew what distance of range they were at.

"But we are at least a good 10 miles away! Why are they all the way out here?"

"I'm not sure Lloyd, they must have been on some sort of hunting party"

Another arrow was shot from about 90 feet away behind a big oak tree and landed several feet away from the two flyers.

"They don't know our position yet, they probably just think we are wild animals" Zane whispered to the young dragon.

"Then what are we going to do?" He replied with a hint of unease and fear in his voice."

Zane put his communicator in Lloyd's hands. "When I give the signal I want you to fly as fast as you can back towards the bounty, I am going to distract them."

"What? you can't do that!" Lloyd resisted. "I'm not just going to leave you here!"

"Your going to go call for backup." Zane gave him a comforting gaze. "They wont be able to catch me, and their bows are primitive they wont be able to aim upwards very well. I will circle back as soon as I loose them."

"Then why can't I just come with you?" Lloyd pleaded.

"Because my first priority is your safety." Zane smiled and cupped the small boy's cheek in his hand.

"Now go!" He yelled springing up from the bushes, obviously surprising the party of villagers who gave out a startled yelp.

Lloyd didn't look back as he ran off too in the opposite direction. He sprung into the air and flapped his wings as hard as he could to gain speed and altitude. The dragon was sure nobody was following him, but to be safe he kept up close to the canopy of the trees where he was well shielded from view.

Lloyd pulled out the communicator Zane had given him and wasted no time in calling for assistance.

Zane was flying a bit slower to keep the hunters in his view. He just needed to distract them for a bit, get them tired so he could leave without them following him to the Bounty. They few arrows they fired didn't even get close to him so he felt fairly in control of this situation. It's not like it was the first time they had been chased down by an angry mob.

The one thing that Zane wasn't allowed to do in a situation like this, was use his elemental power. If the villagers saw this then they would make the connection that he is the white ninja, resulting in their secret being uncovered. This was fine though, as he could fly and easily outrun these people.

Zane quickly turned a sharp corner, dodging several trees in the process. The villagers were persistent and keep following, that Zane expected. What he didn't expect was the net that came flying from above him. He tried to dodge to the right but it was already too late, the ropes had wrapped around him and the weights attacked to them made him drop out of the sky like lead. There had been villagers in the trees as well waiting for prey to come by.

Zane hit the floor with a thud and even bounced a little. He was now in excruciating pain and tied up... great. He let out a few hearty coughs trying to get oxygen back in his lungs. The villagers had caught up by now and we all cheering and screaming in victory. A few had started hitting him with their sticks as Zane struggled to escape the net.

Zane let out a few pained grunts as they picked up some of the net and started dragging him back to their village, still cheering out in catching a hybrid.

The net was uncomfortably cutting into his feathers and he was getting scratches from being dragged on the ground.

"Please let Lloyd be okay..." He mumbled to himself as the bird was dragged even further from the safety of the Bounty.

The ninja where already on their way to the forest, Nya staying on the Bounty to take care of Lloyd and be backup if need be.

Zane having no communicator, is unable to be tracked or contacted. That meant they had to go where they last signal it gave before Lloyd had headed off.

Of course nobody was here except for a few stray arrows.

"Come on Lloyd said he went this way." Cole pointed to the North, the opposite direction Lloyd had went. Cole was worried to say the least, These villagers were brutal and assuming they were not at the very end of the forest was probably a bad idea.

"Look, footprints!" Kai pointed to the ground. "We can follow them, at least it will give us a general path instead of just wandering around."

They all nodded in agreement and ran off following the prints left behind by the group of hunters.

The continued running for about 1o minutes before they came across a clearing where all the foot prints looked like they were dancing around. They spread out and looked around in case there were any clues where Zane had gone.

"Do you think they captured him?" Jay asked with a hint of worry.

"No way, he can fly remember?" Cole said sternly as if he was convincing himself Zane was perfectly okay. "Besides we just have to keep looking, I'm sure he is around here somewhere."

Kai looked behind a particularly large bush and gasped. The others turned to his attention and came over after he waved them over saying, "Guys come look at this."

In another part of the clearing there where a dark chocolate brown feathers and white down scattered everywhere. If that wasn't unsettling enough there were also a few splotches of blood.

Cole was frozen his eyes wide and his stomach twisted. Zane was captured, his favorite book loving, culinary artist, bird was in the hands of hybrid hunters.

"Shittttt" Kai cursed under his breath.

"We can still follow their footprints." Jay pointed out trying to get the others to lighten up a bit. "There is still a chance they haven't made it back to their camp yet."

"Jay's right, we need to hurry though." Kai tugged on Cole's arm in a gesture to continue moving.

They sprinted through the forest as silent as expected of a ninja, following the tracks and feathers left behind from the capture. The footprints unfortunately lead straight to the front gate of the village. The ninja hid in the edge of the forest keeping hidden from the locals. Most were crowded around something towards the middle of the village. Others were standing guard at the gate. The village was loud, sounds of villagers screaming and cheering as if watching an interesting sports game.

"I can't see. what's happening?" Jay said from behind Cole and Kai.

"I don't know, Jay, we need to get closer to see though that crowd." Kai replied as Cole was still currently on auto pilot worrying about his icy companion

"There!" Jay pointed to a clothing rack with several old hoods on it. It seemed everyone in the villiage was wearing one. "We can use those to blend in."

They sneaked their way over, which wasn't hard as everyone had their attention on whatever was going on in the middle of the crowd. Putting on the cloaks and bringing up the hood to hide their face and more importantly their special traits, they made their way through the loud and energetic crowd to see what they were all cheering at. While they made their way towards the front they could hear someone speaking loudly to the crowd. He was standing on some form of platform so they could just barely see his head over the mass of villagers. He must be some sort of leader.

As they finally shoved their way to the front of the crowd, the sight that they looked up on, they would never be prepared for.

A large metal pole was hammered into the ground with two metal cuffs to keep someone in place. Zane was slouched over, hands attached to the pole, on his knees. The back of his gi had been torn to shreds and whip marks covered any sign of skin. His brown chocolate wings, tips with white, were both staked to the ground at the tips. Feathers littered the ground and the smell of blood was too strong for the poor hybrids' noses.

The crowd was cheering... at his pain... The man on the platform was yelling profanities and curses at hybrid kind and in his hand, was a bloodied whip. They were toying with Zane. Making him suffer so they could eventually kill him... Did they really hate hybrids this much?

Cole couldn't stand for this... This was his brother. This was his Zane. And they were hurting him. Jay put a hand on Cole's shoulder, very tightly. He was holding him back. Both Jay and Kai could sense the overwhelming amount of anger radiating off the bear. Not that they weren't mad themselves. Kai's teeth were gritted together in a sneer, and Jays eyes had turn to slits.

"Not Here Cole..." Jay said in a low whisper. "If we reveal ourselves then we would be putting Zane in danger..."

"As much as I hate it, Jay's right." Kai growled out. "We need to wait."

"Wait?.. Till what? Till they kill him?" Cole growled aggressively. Jay was slightly taken back, loosening his grip on the angered bear.

"No Cole, you know as well as I do they aren't going to kill him yet. Not until they have had their fill of torment. They will leave him here when they all go to sleep at night. the best thing we can do is wait until they leave then we can rescue him." Kai said rather calmly. It was strange seeing as usually Kai is the one with a fiery temper, but in situations like these a mama bear is far more dangerous than a hostile wolf. It was true in a way how Cole was a mother to them all, despite not even being female. He was the leader and his job was to take care of his brothers. Unfortunately Cole can't protect them from everything...

Cole didn't say anything else, but he silently agreed. He knew it was best to wait, but who knew what kind of shape Zane would be in by the time night falls. Even if it is only a few hours away.

The ninja had waiting till nightfall where eventually all the villagers dispersed and headed their separate ways for the night. Most of them giving the hybrid a kick or two while leaving. Until this point Cole, Jay, and Kai where sitting on one of the roofs of the many huts out of sight. After looking around making sure there were no more people around, they climbed off the building and hastily made their way to the injured falcon.

Running up next to him and dropping to his knees, Cole put a hand on Zane's torn up shoulder. "Zane? Zane can you hear me?"

The falcon hybrid's eyes were closed tightly and beads of sweat dripped down his face. He looked unconscious, but still in a lot of pain.

"I need help getting these cuffs of him." Kai motioned for Cole to sit up and help him while Jay carefully pulled the wooden stakes out of Zane's wings.

"Luckily it looks like they missed the bone of his wing and just tore through some muscle, so his wings aren't too badly damaged." Jay announced as he folded the falcon's wings back into their resting position.

Cole helped Kai break off the cuffs and caught Zane when he was about to slump over from lack of support. "We need to get him medical attention immediately.. Jay, call Nya. Have her come pick us up, and prep the cot."

Jay nodded as cole and Kai both put an arm around their neck and carried Zane to the woods where they would be picked up by Nya.

Jay hung up the phone. His tail was swinging side to side nervously and his throat was extremely dry. They all knew the consequences of being a hybrid, but to actually witness it is another thing. Is this how the world react if the ninja where revealed to be hybrids? Threatened and hunted just because they were different? The thought terrified Jay. He hated hiding, but every so often he was reminded that the world was crueler then his mind wanted to believe.

"Nya's on her way." Jay informed the other two hybrids who were still supporting Zane. They couldn't lay him down or his back would get dirty and the open wounds could get infected. "Maybe Sensei Wu will have some sort of tea to help heal Zane quickly?"

"Maybe.." Kai added on to the hopeful thought. It was a bit of an inside joke between the four of them, of the overwhelming amount of tea Sensei Wu had. One time they had decided to sneak into his "Tea Drawer" The one drawer nobody is allowed to touch. There were so many different teas for so many different things it was kinda concerning.

"If he has teas for, curses, akwardness, and traveling to different dimensions, but not a healing tea... I'm going to be impressed." Cole laughed.

"Ya" Jay laughed. "That would be pretty _Brew_ tal"

"Oh my God..." Kai face palmed while Jay laughed even harder.

"Oh come on Kai," Jay wheezed out between his uncontrolled laughter. "You know I'm just _Tea_ sing you."

Cole snickered and Kai groaned even more.

"Please for the love of all things sane." Kai sighed as Jay fell over holding his stomach

"I can't _**Wheeze**_ Breathe." The cat was crying at this point.

"Come on Jay, We don't want to have to carry you back to the _Bounty_ too." Cole smiled as Jay finally got up and dusted himself off, still slightly laughing at his own joke.

Speaking of the flying ship, It's shadow covered the area the ninja were standing and slowly landed in a clearing not too far away. The ninja started making their way towards the landed ship. The atmosphere loosing most of its humor, and the reality of the situation really came crashing down. They needed to get Zane help.

Cole had been sitting at Zane's bedside for most of the night and early morning now. The others had demanded he took a break and got some sleep himself, but the bear refused. Zane had yet to awake since the beating he took yesterday at the village, and Cole was still drowning in worry. Zane's back was completely torn and ripped. bandages were wrapped around his entire torso, and probably needed to be changed again. His wrists were a tad swollen from the cuffs, but they were iced and are fine now. The falcon's wings, weren't too bad like Jay had expected, but still needed stitches and were wrapped tightly. The thing that was most concerning was his fever. Zane's temperature was extremely high. A wet cloth was placed over his forehead, and Cole kept himself busy but re-wetting the rag in the bowl of ice water every few minutes.

Kai had come in every hour or so to check up on them both and see if they needed anything but was always turned down and assured everything was alright. Cole took the cloth off the blonde's forehead once more and wet it in the ice water. Before Cole could place the rag back on the falcon's forehead, Zane shifted a bit where he laid and let out a small groan.

"Hey Zane buddy..." Cole whispered quietly.

Zane shifted a bit more before slowly opening his icy blue eyes. "C-Cole?"

"Ya... It's me.." Cole put the cloth back on Zane's head and dabbed away some of the sweat that had articulated on his skin. "How do you feel?"

"Peachy..."

Cole let out a snicker at the rarely used sarcasm. "Do you want some water?"

"Water sounds nice..." With some help from Cole, Zane was sitting up in his bed and was handed 2 tablets of fever medication along with glass of water, which was empty in a matter of seconds. "Is Lloyd okay?"

"Ya, he's alright. Probably asleep, he tried to stay up all night to wait for you to wake up, but Kai dragged him to bed eventually."

"Good."

Cole sighed as Zane rested his eyes again, he was probably really tired. "You really gave us a scare today.."

"Yeah... sorry about that." Zane whispered before looking tiredly out the window.

"..."

Cole and Zane both sat in silence for a while, while the latter was slowly drifting off back into a fever induced sleep.

Cole sat there a bit longer after the Falcon had fallen asleep. "This won't happen again Zane... I will protect you... no matter what..."


	4. Chapter 4: Island Vacation (not)

A/N: OKAY SO THIS STORY TURNED INTO SOMETHING ENTIRELY DIFFERENT. At first I was just gonna do a happy fluffy beach day, but my twisted mind was like "No make it edgy... and throw in some gayness." So... yeah. That's how this garbage was born.

Chapter 4

summary: After the chaos of their daily lives, the ninja decide to take a break on a tropic island. However, things dont go as planned.

The sun was shining, the weather was warm, and it was a perfect day to just kick back and relax. After all the chaos that had been going on the ninja decided to take a day off. So, the crew packed up and set sail on the _Bounty_ to a secluded island not many people knew of. It was mainly a safe area for refugee hybrids. Most people didn't even know of its existence, and when they did, they usually thought nothing of it. The island was very small, and few species lived on it, so it wasn't really a thriving area for fauna. The ninja would often go here to relax and wind down. All the residence that lived here, were aware of the ninja's identities as hybrids and were always very welcoming whenever they dropped by to give a visit. After all they had protected them and gave them a place to live without fear.

Zane was still recovering from his last encounter with hybrid hunters, so he was restricted to little physical activity. Which was making him go stir crazy. Usually Zane is good about sitting still for long periods of time. But not being able to do anything for several weeks starts to take a toll on you. Zane usually went out for a fly at least once every morning. Just being up in the clouds right as the sun is rising, letting it wash over you. The feeling was indescribable, and not being able to go out for his fly every morning, made Zane feel a little cooped up.

As soon as the _Bounty_ landed on the Island, villagers where already outside cheering and waving at the ninja in greeting. The hybrids varied from mammals to reptiles, and even a few crossbreeds where on the island. Crossbreeds are a mixture of two hybrids. Usually they are extremely rare, because it's hard to get genetics to combine to create a child of two species, especially if they are extremely different.

The ninja climbed off the ship using a rope ladder that they carried on it. Hugs and handshakes were exchanged in greetings, as the villagers led them towards the town, hidden in the thick jungle. As soon as they entered, they were offered food and drinks. The ninjas were almost treated as gods here.

"Thank you all again for having us, but we really just need to lay low for a while." Cole calmed the crowd refusing to take any of their offered food. "We have had a rough couple of days and we just need to take a day to relax."

"Of course, Black ninja. You know you are always welcome here for whatever reason." The old villager spoke. He was a turtle hybrid, wise beyond his years. "If you are in need of anything just be sure to let us know, your usual sleeping courters will be prepared." The rest of the village had calmed down and went back to their duties. It was really a beautiful place. You could tell the people here were truly happy.

The ninja were escorted to the large temple that was in the center of the village. It had been an ancient ruin before the hybrids found it and fixed it up to its formal glory. The building was large and housed the chief hybrid and his family. It had large dining rooms for events and meetings. Large hallways were decorated with large windows and red embroidery carpets. They were all brought to a hallway on the third floor were each of them were given a personal room. Inside the rooms were furnished for standard needs. There was a large bed, a balcony, a dresser and a bathroom attached.

As soon as the ninja settled in, they opted for heading out to the beach. Sensei Wu decided to stay behind and speak with Kanuka, The chief.

Kai and Jay raced for the water as soon as their feet hit the sand. Nya, Cole and Zane stayed back setting up an umbrella they had found in the temple storage. Being in public and not having to bind back

tails and wings were such a relief, and they all cherished this time. Lloyd tried to join the much bigger Kai and Jay wrestling in the water, but quickly gave up and sat in the sand playing with his tail.

Cole allowed himself a smile at the retreating form of Jay crawling out of the water, the obvious looser of the water duel. As the wet cat trudged back to where the others sat, he plopped down on the sand just outside of the umbrella to avoid getting them wet.

"Damn dog..." He muttered referring to Kai woo was now helping Lloyd dig a pit in the sand.

Nya laughed. "How much you wanna bet they are gonna burry Lloyd."

Cole laughed along with Jay and added in to their conversation every now and then, but his attention was mostly on the grounded bird. Zane was absorbed in a book that he brought with him, ruffling his feathers every so often.

"So, Zane," Cole grasped the attention of the falcon hybrid.

"Yes, Cole?" He answered, putting down the book.

"You wanna go wander the temple tonight? I heard they added some sort of hot spring down by the gardens."

"Sure, I will accompany you. It sounds fun." He slightly smiled and dived right back into his book.

Cole sighed. This was a lot more boring than he thought it would be. By now Jay and Kai teamed up to go throw Nya in the water while Lloyd hovered above them. The bear didn't really feel up to getting wet right now, and Zane isn't being very entertaining either. He sat just staring at the ocean for a while before hearing a few footsteps approaching from behind.

He turned to see a few of the villagers who were quite familiar by now. As Kai, Jay and Nya approached back towards the umbrella they announced their arrival.

"Senshi!" Nya shrieked in excitement and ran to hug the islandic girl who was accompanied by two other men. Senshi was an albino fox hybrid and worked closely in the temple. She had bonded well to Nya as one of the servers who were supposed to make sure the ninja had everything they needed.

"Nya! My girl, it's been a while!" The two foxes shared greetings while the other hybrids who accompanied Senshi went over to greet the ninja as well.

"Chanto! Kalla!" Jay greeted the two familiar hybrids giving them a hug. Chanto and Kalla were both chimpanzee hybrid brothers who also worked as the temple staff.

"Hey guys! We heard you were back on the island, wanted to come say hi." Chanto gave a high-five to Lloyd before giving a "man-hug" to Cole.

The ninja caught up with their old friends, chatting and laughing the evening away. Just as the sun was lining the trees and starting to set, Chanto and Cole decided to go and gather some coconuts to make smoothies while everyone else headed back to the temple.

As they walked through the forest to the gardens Chanto and Cole made small talk. They always got along the best, as both had similar personalities. Brash, Strong, and a bit reckless at times. When they made it to the gardens, they collected multiple fruits and started making their way back towards the temple.

"So, you and Zane huh?" Chanto side glanced towards Cole with a sly smirk.

Cole immediately choked on the coconut water he was currently drinking. Chanto started chuckling slightly at the blushing bear as he tried to stop coughing.

"M-me and Z-Zane?!" Cole gasped out trying to breathe again. "Wh-what are you talking about?!"

Chanto stopped walking and turn towards the flustered bear. "Come on Cole, you can't keep it a secret you guys smell exactly like each other." He smiled as Cole blushed even harder (if that was even physically possible).

"I-It's not like that!" Cole ran-walked to catch up with Chanto so they could continue their walk. "We are just friends, we spend a lot of time together... That's all."

"Oh, come on!" Chanto laughed at Cole's tinted cheeks. "Friends don't get that smell just from hanging out. What have you been doing? Sharing clothes?"

"Well... I mean I did let him wear one of my hoodies cause he didn't have any but-" Chanto cut Cole off with his laughter.

"Sure... friends." Chanto winked at Cole. "We will stick with that for now, but if you need any help with anything... I hear the tidepools look lovely at night."

Before Cole could protest Chanto opened the large doors to the temple which they had arrived at. Walking to the large kitchen they set down the baskets of fruit, greeting the other ninja who were already there chatting.

"Took you long enough." Nya raised an eyebrow with a smile. "What'd you do? Talk a walk around the entire island?"

"Something like that." Chanto gave Cole a 'look'. Who laughed in response.

"Let's make some smoothies woo!" Jay screeched jumping off one of the counters he was perched on.

"Yeah... No." Kai tugged on the back of the hybrid's shirt. "None of us trust you with any kitchen appliances. Let Zane handle the smoothies."

"Oh, come on! I blow up a toaster one time and-" Jay was cut off by Zane taking out the blender.

"It's alright Jay, why don't you all wait in the sitting room while I finish these up." He said cutting up the fruit.

Jay nodded and ran out the door, Kai, Nya, Senshi, Chanto, and Kalla right behind him. Cole decided to stay behind to help make the smoothies (crack open the coconuts because nobody else can).

Zane finished the smoothies and they brought them out to the rest of the hybrid group. Zane and Cole sat towards the back of the room on one of the couches, while the rest of them played some sort of homemade board game. After a while of watching Kai and Jay duke it out, the bear and falcon hybrid decided to wander off.

After walking around the temple and the village, hanging out with other hybrids and learning some island traditions, the sun was completely set, and it was starting to get chilly.

"Hey, you still wanna go check out the hot spring?" Cole asked, gently nudging the ice ninja with his elbow.

"Sure, I'm certain the others are entertaining themselves thoroughly" Zane smiled as they walked back towards the gardens which were located in the jungle behind the temple. By the gardens, there was a stone path which lead to a natural spring of volcanic heated water.

Both already in their swim trunks from earlier that day, they shed their tops and got in the warm water.

"Damn I don't think I could ever get out of this." Cole whispered sinking down so only his nose and up were above water.

"It is quite pleasant, yes." Zane nodded in agreement. The warm water on his feathers felt amazing, especially in the chilly air.

"So, how has Chanto been doing?" Zane asked.

Suddenly remembering the conversation they had earlier, Cole sunk a little deeper to hide the cringe on his face. "Oh, He's good. Him and his brother are trying to become a royal guard or something."

"Interesting. I wish them well on their quest. They would make fantastic guards." Zane nodded.

There was a comfortable silence as they listened to the many sounds of the jungles.

"How long do you think it's gonna take for Jay to get bored and find us?" Cole broke the silence earning a laugh out of Zane.

"I'd say an hour tops." The falcon giggled.

After an hour or so of chatting, the two hybrids headed back to the temple where most of the ninja were already asleep and in their respective rooms. Cole and Zane both said goodnight before heading into their own rooms which were right across from each other.

After taking a shower, and dressing himself in clean clothes, Cole plopped down on his bed and quickly drifted off to a dreamless sleep. For once not having to worry about the daily struggles being a hybrid contains.

The sun was rising high on the island and tropical birds were already screeching. The sunlight peeking in his room woke Cole up. He peaked his eyes open and slowly sat up. Quickly getting dressed, Cole walked out of his room and down the halls of the temple to the dinning room where everyone was already seated.

"Ah Cole!" Kanuka, the chief greeted the elemental master. "We were just about to send someone to get you."

"Sorry to keep you waiting Kanuka Sir." Cole bowed respectfully and went to sit down at the end of the table by Zane. The table was low to the ground like a coffee table. And they all sat on decorative pillows on the floor.

"Nah we were just gonna let you sleep in a while. You and Zane weren't back till really late." Kai gave an accusing smirk.

"Shut up Kai, we were at the hot springs." Cole hid his blush by shoving an apple slice into his mouth from the bowl of cut up fruit that was being passed around.

"Chief Kanuka, we would all like to thank you for letting us stay at your home, it is quite an honor." Zane said giving his respects as they all got their fruit and began to eat, (Of course some meat was brought out too for the carnivores).

"No need for that, young ninja." Kanuka smiled. He was an old panda hybrid who had a long white beard, decorated with braids and beads. "As the protectors of Ninjago, you are welcome here anytime!"

As breakfast went on Kanuka shared stories of his niece to Wu, both reminiscing in memories of their beloved Niece/Nephew and all the trouble they could get in.

"Ah yes, she is quite the rowdy one. Almost got us all in a big heap of trouble once." Kanuka continued his story. "She had gone down to the banks of the other side of the island where a travel crew were restocking their ship of supplies."

"Wait, other people come to the island?" Jay asked. He thought the island wasn't even on the maps.

"Sometimes yes. It's usually sailors, or travelers who are looking for land to stop and rest. They don't ever stay for more than a few days. Besides they never travel through the jungle, we are safe on our side of the island." Kanuka explained. "If they had spotted her, then it would have been different. Anyone knowing the location of a potential hybrid refuge could end in catastrophe for us all."

Wu gave the 'Don't-try-and-do-what-we-just-discussed-or-You're-going-to-be-in-so-much-trouble' look to Lloyd who was playing with his food at the far end of the table.

"They come here every moon or so, we have procedures in order to keep us safe." Chief Kanuka explained the detailed operation of scouts and rules that take place should they ever be discovered.

"Wow you guys seemed... very prepared for this." Nya said in fascination.

"Yeah, I don't think I've seen such organization since Nya went through my closet." Kai smiled.

"It is very logical though. It seems you have thought of every scenario." Zane was impressed by the solidness of their structure.

After breakfast Chief Kanuka took them on a tour of the village, they had added some new buildings and huts since the last time they were here.

While explaining a tradition to the ninja, A bird-type hybrid flew up to them in a frantic hurry.

"Chief! Chief!" The bird landed and dusted himself off.

"Yes, Manti? What is it?" Kanuka asked concerned. Manti was a scout who patrols the island border, the only reason he would abandon his post is if something were to happen.

"Chief, there are boats lined up all along the east beach!" He panted out of breath. A few of the villagers hanging around had heard and started to gather a crowd around them. "Seven of them in total. Medium in size."

"There were boats there not 2 weeks ago, what could they possibly be here for?" Kanuka was now worried. "Gather the rest of the scouts, send them out to every beach to check for boats. I want a full evaluation."

The ninja watched in concern as he started barking out orders to villagers who sprung into action, stopping anything they were previously doing.

Villagers were camouflaging their huts with leaves and pre-made nets that covered them to disguise them as foliage. Some were gathering the few children and heading towards the temple. In an unknown emergency like this everyone was to report to the temple and stay in the large open walkway. Hiding like this was truly a sad sight, but it was necessary for Hybrids. The world wasn't ready to understand them yet.

"Is there anything we can do to help?" Kai asked Kanuka who was still giving out orders.

"At the moment, not much." Kanuka answered. Escort the remaining Hybrids to the temple and wait there, I will join you all shortly."

They all nodded and spread out to make sure everyone made it to the temple safely.

A few minutes after arriving, the ninja helped everyone get situated and kept everyone calm. They were all sitting on the floor of the large entry way, huddling close to their loved once. Senshi, Chanto, and Kalla were there as well helping with the other temple staff to keep the small crowd quiet and peaceful.

Chief Kanuka entered the temple's large doorways followed by the parrot scout who had initially warned him.

"Is everything alright?" Nya ran up to the chief who looked slightly grave.

"Unfortunately, no." Kanuka whispered as to not alert the hybrid villagers. "The boats seemed to have purposefully sought our island out, they are about to send out scouts to the rest of the island."

"What can we do?" Jay asked determined. This was a central hub for Hybrids, they couldn't let it fall.

"Right now, nothing. We will be monitoring their progress but revealing the ninja's true identities is too much of a risk." Kanuka was right, if they found the ninja protecting a hybrid refuge, Ninjago would go up in flames. "The island is small, so it won't take them long to search the entire island. A few days at most."

"The rest of the village is hidden so that isn't a problem, but what about the temple?" Kai asked.

"We do have a method to hide ourselves should it come to that but its dangerous." Chief Kanuka said. "Come, let us go to a more private space to discuss this."

All the ninja and the chief walked back towards the parts of the temple that the villagers weren't allowed. Sensei Wu decided to stay back with Lloyd to keep him out of trouble.

"What's this method you were speaking of?" Zane asked as they walked down empty halls.

"It's an ancient magic we discovered when the found this temple. We have found ways to make it work but every time the life force was drained from whichever hybrid used it." Kanuka explained. "But before then, they were able to make a magic barrier that shielded the temple and hid it from the outside."

"Like a force field?" Cole asked.

"Yes, something of that matter." Chief Kanuka led them to a large circular room that was mostly empty but had couches and pillows against the walls in some places. In the center of the room there was a post that held a glowing blue crystal. The crystal was fairly large and seemed to be floating above its golden post.

"This is in the center of the temple and the crystal seems to be linked to it somehow." Kanuka let the ninja go closer to inspect the crystal.

Zane inched closer to where the blue glow could be reflected on his face. He stared closely, examining the crystal for a few seconds. "I think I know what this is..."

"Wait really?" Jay asked surprised.

"It just looks like a giant magic crystal to me." Kai muttered.

"Back when we were retrieving our golden weapons, I saw something similar to this in the ice temple." Zane explained walking around the golden post still staring at the crystal. "I had asked Sensei about it later and he explained to me it was an elemental crystal, capable of absorbing and homing in on a particular element in order to create energy."

"You mean like some sort of power source?" Jay asked.

"Yes, one that would feed off a particular element." Zane explained finally turning away from the crystal. "The reason it was injuring your hybrids, is because since they didn't have elemental powers it was draining any energy they had."

"Fascinating..." Kanuka's eyes widened. "So, you're telling me that this is an ice crystal? One of your own element correct?"

"Woah, Woah." Cole waved his hands, interrupting. "You're not possibly thinking of using yourself on that thing, are you?"

"Well... Yes." Zane said a bit awkwardly. "If I am correct, I should be able to use my elemental power to keep up a shield around the temple."

"And if you're not?" Nya asked.

"Then I guess we are out of options." Zane shrugged.

"Hold on now." Kai put a hand up. "We don't know exactly what this thing could do to you."

"Kai's right," Jay added. "You've just recovered from a serious illness, and this crystal is like a thousand years old. What if it's broken in some way?"

Zane harden his expression a bit "Well I can't just sit here, if the men with the boats make it to the temple then they will find all the hybrids."

"We're not saying that you shouldn't use it exactly." Nya said trying to calm everyone down, her ears flickering a bit. "We are just saying maybe we should leave it for a last resort kinda thing. We don't even know if they will come all the way across the island yet."

"Nya is correct. I suggest that you would save your strength until we get work of their current whereabouts." Chief Kanuka stroked his beard a few times.

"Alright." Zane agreed.

Cole stayed silent. He didn't have a good feeling about any of this.

It had been a few hours since everyone was gathered in the entry of the temple. Staff had decided to hand out snacks and the villagers set up a dancing stage out of crates, so they could entertain the restless youth.

It was then when another bird hybrid scout had returned with the news. It was a group of hunters. Apparently, there was a rumor that ancient beasts were hidden on this island, so they had gathered a party in hopes to catch one. Their search was quickly expanding, and they would arrive at the temple in half an hour. It looked like they were setting up different camps all over the island to scout for these 'mythical creatures.'

Since the temple was in the middle of the jungle, they would no doubt set up a hunter camp nearby. This news was grave to all, and its when they finally gave Zane the greenlight for their backup plan.

They all walked back into the circular room but stayed back as Zane advanced on the crystal with a determined expression. His feathers rustled nervously. Slowly Zane extended a hand to the glowing crystal. As soon as contact was made, the room filled with a bright blinding light. All the ninja and the chief had to shield their eyes.

After a few moments it died down and they all peaked out of their hands. The room was almost flowing with magic. The air was sparkling, and it seemed the crystal was absorbing it. They couldn't see it from behind, but Zane's blue irises were glowing a brilliant icy blue. A bright white beam shot straight up from the crystal and out of a small opening in the ceiling. From there an entire barrier rose around the temple, hiding its existence from the outside world.

"Woah..." All the ninja's stared in wonder.

"It worked!" Jay shouted after a moment of silence.

Zane took his hand off the crystal, but his eyes were still glowing as he turned back around to his approaching friends.

"I don't need to keep physical contact, but I need to stay close, so I can maintain the link." Zane explained turning slightly towards the crystal that was still emitting a beam of magic to the sky.

"That's great and all but isn't this going to drain your magic?" Nya asked, her tail twitching slightly in concern.

"Yes, it will, but I should be able to keep it up as long as I need to." Zane nodded. "It will have no long-lasting damage."

"I could never ask this much of you all. Truly my people and I thank you." Kanuka smiled in gratitude.

"It really is no problem Chief Kanuka." Zane smiled. "It is our duty and our honor."

"I must return back to my duties as Chief, if you are in need of anything let me know." Kanuka left the room swiftly to return to his people and give them an update.

"You guys go on ahead I will stay here and keep Zane company." Cole nodded his head towards the door. The other ninja departed to go help with the hybrids and Cole stepped up close to Zane who was currently staring at the crystal.

As soon as the door shut the bear hybrid spoke up. "How long do your really think you can keep this up?"

"As long as it takes-"

"Cut the bullshit Zane." Cole interrupted. Zane went quiet and continued to stare at the crystal. "That thing is gonna drain you like a double A battery, there's no way you can keep this up forever."

"I must try." He muttered. Wings twitching anxiously. "Who knows what will happen if these 'Hunters' find them."

"Well do you at least have a game-plan?" Cole asked, Surely Zane of all people would know what he is doing.

"Meditation." Zane half-joked. "Lots of it."

Cole snickered. "Of course."

It had been a whole 12 hours since Zane had raised the force field and it was starting to show. He had meditated most of the day away but the bags under his eyes showed his exhaustion. He could not rest though, or he risk cutting the link. The others tried to get him to eat something, but he refused every time.

The scout had been right, and a hunter camp was set up not a mile away from the temple. Without the barrier, they would surly spot it. If they didn't see any creatures, they would probably move camps in a few days, so Zane just had to hold out until then.

The other ninja decided to move all their pillows and blankets to the circle room to stay up with Zane and keep him company while he meditated. They all tried to stay awake, but one by one they eventually passed out in the early hours of the morning. Still Zane kept his grip on the crystal and stayed focused.

By the second day Zane could feel the effects physically, all his limbs were heavy, and he was exhausted. More meditation was ensured. The other ninja came to and from throughout the day. They left at times to help Hand out meals and entertain the poor hybrids, but Cole stayed most of the time to keep Zane company. When he couldn't meditate any longer Zane would get up and walk around the room to stretch his legs and wings. After a while Cole decided to bring Zane some books from the library to keep him entertained as well.

It was around noon on the second day when the ninja tried to get him to eat something again.

"Come on Zane, you really need to eat something." Jay said trying to force a bowl of soup into the meditating falcon's hands.

"I ate the grapes you brought earlier." Zane said not even opening his eyes.

"That was like seven hours ago, and you didn't even eat them all." Jay growled out a bit frustrated.

"Dude you need to keep your strength up. You're literally giving most of it to a magical crystal." Kai raised an eyebrow.

"I told you, I'm not hungry." Zane said again, still unmoving from his lotus position.

"Jesus Zane, you are impossible to deal with." Jay slapped a hand on his face.

"Here, Cole, why don't you get him to eat it." Kai took the bowl from Jay and handed it to an unprepared bear.

"What makes you think he is gonna listen to me?" Cole asked raising an eyebrow. "He isn't even listening to our conversation right now." Cole pointed to a Zane who was totally ignoring all of them.

"Because he does anything you tell him to. Because you're Cole!" Nya gestured to the bear hybrid.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Cole asked obviously oblivious to what they were trying to imply.

"Oh my god." Nya shoved the bear hybrid in Zane's direction who had stood up and was pacing around the room. "Just give it to him."

Zane finally stopped his pacing and put his hands on the golden post that held up the crystal as if to keep himself steady.

Cole walked up to him, the others obviously staring from behind. "Hey Zane. You really should eat something."

As he caught a better look at Zane, he looked absolutely exhausted. His eyes were still glowing but not as brightly. They were also dull and clouded, not his usual sharp and focused. Zane's jaw was also clenched, and his knuckles were white, he was obviously having a hard time keeping himself standing.

"I'm not hungry." Zane said avoid of emotions, as he continued to stare ahead into nothing. His hands were shaking, and his breathing was short and uneven.

Just as Cole was going to convince him some more, Zane's knees finally gave out and he fell forwards on all fours.

"Zane!" A few of the ninja's cried out in alarm as they all rushed over to see if he was okay. The bowl of soup long forgotten, Cole was over his shoulders holding the shaking form.

Zane's eyes were clenched shut and the beam was flickering slightly.

"Zane are you alright?!" Cole asked.

It took Zane a few seconds to put himself back together before answering. "Y-yeah I'm alright." He nodded attempting to get back up, but almost falling back down in the process. Luckily Cole was right there to catch him. Cole picked him up bridal style and carried him over to one of the corners of the room where a couch was, the others trailing behind.

"I knew this was a bad idea, there is no way you can keep this up." Nya said with more worry than frustration.

"there is nothing else we can do." Zane reasoned with her again. The other ninja were crowded around him, His eyes still glowing but even duller than before. "This barrier is the only thing keeping the hunters from discovering the hybrids... I cannot allow them to hurt the ones in this temple."

The others sighed with understanding. Zane was going to do this whether they wanted him to or not. And he was right too, the hunters were out scouting the island and they couldn't risk revealing an ancient temple to them.

"Okay fine. But if your going to do this then you have to promise us you will try to eat whenever we ask you." Kai finally stated.

"Fine." Zane agreed, and the bowl of soup was fetched for him.

The ninja all sat around him keeping Zane company as he ate what he could and then opted to leaning on Cole's shoulder. If he was being honest, he felt terrible. His strength was long gone, and he was having a hard time focusing on anything.

Cole just let him rest his eyes and rubbed the falcons back. The other ninja ended up leaving later to help Chief with duties. Cole stayed behind as usual to share company and his strength with Zane.

It had been another 2 days and the scout's reports were improving. Apparently, some of the other hunters that were camped out had packed up and headed back to the boats. The hope was that the closest camp would soon follow.

Zane wasn't fairing too good either. Nobody was sure how much longer he would last. He had no strength left and he could barely move his head. He was almost always curled up on the sofa with Cole, who would rub circles on his back and smooth out his feathers. The beam would flicker sometimes but Zane always managed to keep it up, he had to use all his strength just to focus. He couldn't do much else.

The ninja had just got done handing out food rations in the entry hall and had gone back to the circular room to see how their friend was doing. Cole no longer left his side and would stay up at night with him.

"How's he doing?" Jay asked as they walked into the circular room.

"Not sure." Cole replied looking down at his feathered fried who was curled up on his side. "I don't think he can hold the barrier up much longer."

"Either way he has already surpassed all our expectations." Nya said with a smile. Although he doesn't look like it, Zane is strong.

"The scouts think that the humans are all going to meet up at the beach tomorrow and head out." Kai gave them the good news. "Hopefully he can hold out until then."

"I'm just a bit curious as to why there is an ice crystal here, in the jungle." Jay asked looked back to the crystal that was barely glowing. "Why not an earth crystal? Or something more island related."

"Zane was telling me about it a while ago." Cole explained. "He said that each crystal had its own special use. Ice crystals in particular were able to create invisible barriers. The islanders who were settled here probably used it to protect themselves."

"It doesn't seem very practical, I mean sure Zane has held it up for this long, but what good is only a few days of protection going to do against an enemy?" Kai asked.

"Well during the time there were probably other ice elementals to help out." Nya explained. "I was reading one of Sensei Wu's scrolls and it talked about how there were way more than just one of every element."

"Probably killed them all off just like the hybrids." Kai spat out bitterly, his ears turning backwards. "It always comes back to the humans being savage creatures."

Everyone looked down sadly. It was no secret that Kai and Nya lost their parents to the humans, they probably held a bigger grudge than anybody else. The ninja always tried to keep in mind that not all of them are bad, and they just don't understand. But sometimes its hard to keep that mindset when they try to destroy everything you love.

Zane was aware of everyone's presence but didn't have the strength to listen to what they were saying. He needed to focus. He needed to stay focused. An entire tribe of hybrids were counting on him, he couldn't let them down. He couldn't let them go through what he did. He felt completely drained. After this, Zane swore he was gonna sleep for a week.

The thing was, the crystal was draining his elemental powers, which they each naturally produced all the time. Using too much power at one time is dangerous because the sudden lack of elemental power can make your body shut down in a sort of "emergency recharge." Without resting for several days, Zane's levels were already extremely low, and the crystal was draining him faster than he could 'recharge.' He knew that he would run out of juice soon and the barrier would fail. So, in order to hold out as long as possible, he was allowing the crystal to drain his life force as well. It wouldn't have any long-lasting effect unless this continued for an extended amount of time, but it was still a risk the others wouldn't like him taking. So, Zane simply didn't tell them.

It was around midnight when Zane was starting to feel a sharp pain in his chest every time he inhaled. Cole noticed his flinching and eventually looked up from the book he was reading.

"You okay?" He asked softly, as it was completely silent in the room except for the sounds of labored breathing.

"Yeah. Just hurting a bit." Zane's voice was muffled as his face was currently buried in Cole's chest. "I'm fine."

The clenching of Zane's hands told Cole otherwise.

"You want something to eat?" Cole put down the book and shifted a bit so Zane was sitting up a bit.

"Not really." Zane's eyes were still glowing, but even weaker than before. His power was running out and it was showing through the barrier. It would flicker and warp from time to time. His skin was paler (if that was even possible), and his eyes less focused. "I... I can't hold on much longer."

Cole was almost shocked. These past 4 days Zane had never been negative about his grip on the barrier. He was finally caving, and that slightly scared Cole. "This can't be healthy for you. If you want to stop now, I doubt any hybrid out there would hold it against you."

"I can't do that Cole." Zane shook his head slightly leaning against Cole. He didn't have the strength to sit up on his own. "You already know that."

"It was worth a shot." The bear chuckled slightly. "You've always just been like this."

"Like what?" The falcon's curiosity got the better of him sometimes.

"You know... like how you're willing to do anything as long as it protects someone." Cole laughed. "I guess that explains a bit why the ice crystal generates barriers. It reflects a lot of your personality."

"Perhaps... but I know for a fact if need be any of the others would do the same." Zane muttered tiredly.

"Probably, but not as eagerly as you." Cole put an arm around the ice master's shoulder as they both stared at the glowing crystal in the darkened room. "Its kinda funny though. How I'm supposed to be the one who protects you. And then you pull out some magic shit and end up protecting all of us."

Zane laughed at his comment. "Well maybe if you didn't get in so much trouble, I wouldn't have to pull out the magic." He said teasingly.

Cole just nudged him back with a smile, before falling into silence again.

"You should get some rest." Zane muttered. "Just because I have to stay awake doesn't mean you do too."

"I couldn't do that to you, Zane." Cole frowned. "It wouldn't be fair."

"If I end up failing the barrier, then someone is going to have to protect the hybrids." Zane reasoned. "Just in case, we need all of our available ninja rested and ready."

Cole cursed reason. Zane was right though, he would admit. Already having one ninja out of commission would be bad enough. "Fine but only for a few hours." He gave in.

Cole leaned back on the red couch, Zane falling with him. "Just wake me up in like 3 hours."

"Whatever you say, Cole." Zane muttered as he snuggled back into Cole's side to at least try and get comfortable.

He did admit, having the bear hybrid here with him helped a lot. Just having someone to lay next to and listen to their breathing kept Zane's mind as focused as it could be at this point. Besides he didn't want to be alone right now. Not having anyone to talk to, he was reminded of the pain in his chest. Zane gave a small sight. This was going to be a long night.

It was around 6:00 am the next day when the barrier fell. Only for less than 20 seconds, then Zane was able to catch himself and pull it back up, but it was still a risk. Scouts were then sent back out to make sure nobody had gotten a glimpse of them in just those few seconds.

Whether anyone had or not, Zane still felt horrible for it. He hadn't mean to, but his focus slipped for just a second and the link was broken. Zane felt so incredibly guilty, and the overwhelming exhaustion had just been to much for him. The ice master had broke down crying with Cole trying to calm him down. The moment of bringing up the barrier for the second time had taken every last ounce of power Zane had in him. Cole made sure to keep the other ninja out of the room to protect Zane's dignity. Cole knew the ice ninja probably didn't want anyone to see him in his moment of weakness.

The barrier wouldn't stay up for another few hours, is what everyone guessed. Zane was mentally and physically exhausted, practically immobile, and the barrier was glitching like crazy. Everyone just prayed the Scouts would come back with good news.

The ninja (besides Zane and Cole) were all sitting at a table in a large meeting room where they spoke to Chief Kanuka about the current situation.

Senshi and the two chimpanzee brothers had come to the room as well, sitting at the far end of the table.

"We can't decide what to do until the scouts come back, but its better to prepare for any possible situation." Chief kanuka announced to the ninja.

"Zane is holding up so far, but I doubt it will last till noon." Kai said gravely. They didn't know why it went down this morning, but Cole refused to let them in, so it must have been bad.

"We need to be ready incase of an attack." Nya added as she munched on some grapes. "Who knows what those human savages are capable of."

"They obviously would have hunting equipment, so I say everyone says here while we take them out ninja style." Jay jumped up and started making ridiculous karate poses and shouting things like "Kapow, Shwoosh, hi-ya!"

"There are too many of them on the island for us to do that. The best tactic we could use is to scare them away." Nya argued. "Then we wouldn't be hurting any of them, and they would leave thinking its haunted or something."

"Yeah but that would only draw even more attention to the island." Kai's tail twitched under the table. "There aren't many options to keep both the hybrids and the humans safe. So, I say we just get rid of all the hunters."

"Kai, we can't just kill them!" Jay sounded a bit disgusted. "I know they have done some pretty awful things, but it goes against all of our honor."

"So, they aren't gonna miss just a few of them." Kai spat out bitterly. "Besides they are here hunting mythical creatures. They deserve it-"

"Kai that's enough!" Nya slammed her hands down on the table, silencing her brother. "We are not killing them. It's wrong."

"Human hunters like these killed our parents, Nya!" Kai's temper flared up. "We can't just let them go and do the same to some other kids!"

"You think I don't know that!" Nya yelled louder, slightly startling everyone in the room. Nya barely ever raised her voice like this. "I miss them too Kai, but I will never stoop to their level. And I thought you would never too. I guess I was wrong for assuming that..."

Nya got up in a bit of anger and swiftly left the room, not being able to stand her brother much longer.

"So... That happened." Jay gave a nervous laugh glancing back at the stunned Chief.

After a few moments of silence Kai got up and ran out of the room as well leaving Jay alone with the chief and the three other hybrids.

"Nya, wait!" Kai shouted running up to Nya who was swiftly walking down the hall. After catching up with her he walked slightly faster, so he could be in front of her, stopping her movement. "Nya... Listen I'm sorry okay?"

"I'm not really in the mood right now, Kai." Nya's ears lied flat against her head in annoyance. She tried to pass him, but Kai put out a hand in front of her.

"No really. I need to apologize." Kai, usually the hot tempered one was slightly amused by the swap of characteristics. "We have all been a little tense these past few days, and I took it too far. There is a line that we as ninja shall never cross, and I suggested it. I'm sorry."

After a few moments of looking him over, Nya finally sighed. Her orange tail flickered a bit before she looked him back in the eyes. "Fine... You're forgiven. I just... I need some time to think right now."

Before she could walk away again, Kai grabbed ahold of her arm. "You know I would never do anything to hurt you, sis, Right?"

"Of course." Nya smiled before continuing walking down the hallway to her room.

When Kai entered the meeting room again, Jay and Kalla were talking about Zane and Cole's status.

"Well him staying with Zane has increased the barrier stamina by 20%. That's why it has lasted this long." Kalla stated.

"What are you talking about? Cole being there has nothing to do with the barrier time, He is just keeping Zane safe." Jay's ear twitched.

"Well according to a study done, having one's mate with you increases your probability of success in many categories and-"

Kalla was cut off by Jay spitting out the water he was drinking. "I'm sorry what?!"

"I was just trying to explain that having Zane's mate with him is helping-"

"Zane... and Cole?!" Jay eyes were widened with surprise. "No no no no. They aren't mated, just friends. That's it."

"Oh, my mistake, I assumed with all the time they spent together they had already mated." Kalla apologized, with Chanto and Kai dying of laughter in the background. "Then are they just courting?"

"No? I- I don't think so?" Jay muttered out with newfound confusion. "I mean they do spend a lot of time together, and they go out on grocery runs a lot, and sometimes Zane is wearing Cole's clothes... Oh my God they're courting."

Kai finally fell to the floor with laughter as the Chief stared on with confusion.

"Wait Kai... YoU kNeW aBoUt ThIs?!" Jay stood up slamming his hands on the table.

"Well yeah..." Kai gasped out between laughs.

Before Jay could yell at Kai anymore, the temple was rattled with a large cracking sound. Everyone quickly ran over to the giant window and looked out to the barrier that was splintering and crumbling.

Everyone held their breath as it finally shattered with a large boom and the barrier was no more.

Kai and Jay both shared a look of terror before running to the circular room. They burst open the doors as soon as they rounded the corner.

Zane was laying on the floor with his head in Cole's lap. Cole looked very frantic as he was checking the falcon's pulse.

"Is he breathing?!" Jay shouted with panic as they ran over to their friends on the floor by the crystal. The crystal was no longer glowing and just stayed suspended floating.

"Yeah... yeah he is alive." Cole let out a sight of relief as he found the pulse.

Just then Zane coughed a few times before regaining consciousness. "I... I'm sorry... I c-couldn't-"

Close hushed him by putting a hand on his forehead. "It's okay Zane, you did you're best. We're proud of you."

"You did your part, now rest up." Kai patted their feathered friend on the shoulder with a small smile. "We can handle everything from here."

Sensei Wu accompanied by the Chief and Nya barged into the room. They were also quickly followed by the three scouts who were sent out that morning.

"What's the news?" Cole asked with a bit of worry. This was the final truth. If the hunters were still here, then the hybrid refuge may end up falling.

Sensei tilted his hat up to reveal a large smile on his face. "The hunter's have left the island. We are all safe."

The room broke out into a chorus of cheers. Nya running over to hug her brother, who also put an arm around Jay.

"The news will be announced to the other hybrids shortly." Chief kanuka then gestured to Cole and Zane. "Senshi will escort you to the medical ward where a healer is already waiting."

The albino fox appeared in the doorway waving a hand for Cole to follow, who had already picked up the passed-out bird bridal style.

Zane's eyes fluttered open to the sunlight in them. He winced but then looked around at his surroundings. He was in his room at the island. Suddenly it all came back to him. The hunters, the barrier, the crystal. Oh no if he was in here then that meant-

All his anxiety was put to rest as soon as the door creaked open to reveal a certain bear carrying a food tray.

"Oh Zane!" Cole looked surprised as he noticed the bird hybrid sitting up in the bed. "You're awake!"

"Cole?" Zane was confused as the earth elemental rushed over and placed the tray down on the nightstand. "What happened?"

"Oh, you passed out, but turns out you held out just long enough. The hunters left the island and all the hybrids are safe." Cole smiled. "Kinda surprised you're awake though, I thought you'd be out for a whole week"

"So... everyone's okay?" Zane asked still a little dazed. He was still exhausted, but he could feel some of his powers back already.

"Yup!" Cole smiled, sitting down on the side of the bed next to Zane. "You did it, Zane. You protected them all."

"Good. Now I'm going back to sleep." Zane half joked earning a laugh out of Cole.

"I'm glad you're already feeling better." Cole said in a softer voice. "You had me worried there for like... 5 days."

Zane smiled a bit as Cole leaned in to give him a peck on the forehead.

"Goodnight Zane." Cole left the water and food on the nightstand for whenever Zane woke up. He then walked over to the door, shutting it quietly as he left.

"Goodnight love."

A/N:

OH DIDDLY DANG THAT WAS A BIGGIN' sorry this one took so long I had the worst writers block for the longest time and then my brain spat out this so oof. also this has over 8000 words in it, which i think is the longest oneshot i have ever written so... cool i guess.


	5. Chapter 5: Don't Tell Nya

Chapter 5: Don't Tell Nya

Summary:Kai learns something important. Sometimes it's okay to open up. It doesn't make you weaker, it only strengthens the bonds you have.

A/N: Okay so, Icesummerwolf gave me a prompt with Kai, but I kinda... twisted it a bit. so its not really anything like you wanted me to do, but it is centered around Kai... and it does have a muzzle involved... I'm really sorry for not following your prompt exactly, I just don't really want to do another "someone gets captured by the hunters" because everyone is suggesting it over and over again just with different characters, and I feel like that's gonna get old after a while. and I already did that back in chapter 3. I want to focus on more than just hunters physically abusing hybrids. I want to write even about the little tiny things, that can make life so much harder for someone like a hybrid. So I hope you're not mad at me or anything, I did the best I could :')

The screams and cries of a village of hybrids drowned out any senses he had. The ropes that were tight around his wrists dug into his skin, leaving it raw. His eyes stung as tears continues to roll down his face and fell hopelessly to the wood floor beneath him. His ears were flat against his head, and his bushy tail was tucked between his legs. The only thing stopping him from crying out with pain and terror would be the muzzle that was clamped around his mouth.

Kai had no idea where he was anymore. Him and his sister were bound and thrown into a covered wooden wagon. There were no windows, and the only light was coming from the cracks in the doorway. The wolf mutant could tell they were still moving from the jostle of the rocky road underneath them. He attempted to scoot closer to his younger sister, but the rope around his neck held him in place. It was attached to a hook on the corner of the wagon by the door. Nya was unconscious, far out of his grasp on the other end of the small wagon. He was utterly helpless to help her. He was helpless to help them...

The image was still burned into the back of his mind, Nya was lucky enough to have already been knocked out when it happened. The hunters... they invaded the village. They stole the valuable trades, burned the houses, and... Killed the hybrids.

His parents were right there, fighting them off when the net came crashing down on him and his sister. They tried to free them, they told Kai to take his sister and run but... It was too late. Both of kai's parents, Ray the fire fox, and his wife, Maya the water wolf were surrounded. Ray had been the first to go... He had jumped in the way of a blade that was meant for his wife, who soon fell not long after.

Their blood had stained the roads and the rain carried it throughout the village.

Kai wanted to cry out for his sister to wake up, but his words were restrained just as much as his wrists were.

Was she hurt?

Would she wake up?

What if she doesn't wake up?

What if she does? Would the fate the hunters have for them be far worse than to fall asleep only to never awaken?

Finally, the jostling of the wagon halted in a sudden fashion that lunged Kai forward, choking him for a few seconds as the rope restricted him.

A few gargled voices came from outside of the wagon, their disgruntled language foreign to Kai. He started thrashing around in his restraints with false hope that they would magically come loose.

The wooden door flung open noisily, the bright light of midday temporarily blinding the young wolf. Suddenly hands were grabbing at him and pulling Kai out of the wagon, untying the rope around his neck. With eye's shut tightly, Kai continues to thrash and squirm in a desperate attempt for the hunter to loosen his grip.

Nya was pulled out of the wagon, being help up by her collar bone almost like you would a cat. This made Kai indescribably angry. The thrashing had finally payed off as he could feel the ropes on his wrists wearing thin. It hurt like hell, but Kai put all his strength into pulling his arms in different directions to rip off his restraints. Obviously this surprised the hunters giving Kai an advantage.

Without even thinking, Kai immediately began charging at hunter after hunter using his claws as his weapon. Aiming for the face and throat, he managed to take at least 2 of the burly men down before a wooden plank slammed into his side, an explosion of pain erupted in his chest not seconds after he was on the ground.

Kai panted and was clawing at the ground to get back up but all the air in his lungs were gone, leaving him a gasping mess. He had time to look back up as the hunter swung the plank at him again full force.

A Splintery explosion of pain erupted Kai right out of his dream.

"AAaHH!" Kai grunted sitting up straight as he threw his sheets to the ground. He looked around wide eyed and frantic for a few seconds before recognizing his surroundings.

A dream...

It was only a dream...

He took a few moments to catch his breath and listening for any sounds that indicated he awoke another hybrid on the Bounty. When he was certain that, no, he had not rudely awoken anyone with his stupid dream, He got out of bed. When his feet touched the cold wooden floor of the ship, it sent a shiver through Kai's already shaking body. The sheets that were launched halfway across the room were torn to shreds, no doubt from Kai's claws.

Gotta remember to replace those...

Kai took a second to ground himself, looking throughout his room.

He was safe.

He's in his room, on the Bounty.

There are no hunters here.

But the lingering smell of blood in his nostrils told his reflexes otherwise.

He had nightmares sometimes, but they weren't very often. Usually it was always the same thing, so Kai knew what to expect. The recent situations of hunters is probably what triggered it... yeah totally not because Kai has unresolved trauma that's for sure. He was just being a wimp, the others probably weren't sleeping well either, he wasn't some special case. He was being stupid, just calm down already, jeez.

But no matter how much Kai would mentally scold himself, he could not in fact calm down. So instead he opted to going out and making himself some tea. Then maybe rough up a punching bag still the sun comes up.

He creaked open his door and silently stalked to the kitchen where, obviously, nobody was there. Making sure to be as quiet as possible, he turned on the stove and set the kettle on the burner. While he waited for the water to heat up, Kai went over to the sink and splashed the water on his face in hopes to get rid of the chill that was still clinging to his spine. When he turned the faucet off, Kai grabbed a hand towel that was hanging from the stove and dried off his face.

"Kai?" Kai jumped at a soft voice behind him and turned his head so fast he might have given himself whiplash.

Zane then jumped as well, as he hadn't meant to scare the wolf hybrid. They both just stood in stunned silence for a few seconds before Kai let out a breath he didn't know he was holding.

"It's like 3:00 AM shouldn't you be asleep or something?" Kai hadn't meant to sound so harsh.

The flinch Zane gave was already enough to make Kai feel guilty. "I could be asking you the same thing?"

Kai turned off the stove and poured himself and Zane a mug of tea. "Just couldn't sleep. Y'know, nocturnal instincts and all..."

Zane accepted the mug that was handed to him and went to sit down at the table in the connected room with Kai.

While Zane obviously knew that wasn't the case, but He wasn't one to pry on personal matters. "As for me as well I guess. I was just wandering the halls, it helps clear my head, when I spotted you."

Kai grunted in acknowledgment and made no effort to continue their conversation. He didn't mind the company though... It was... comforting.

Anyone else probably would have bugged him though. Jay would be too talkative, Cole would ask to many questions and Nya would be such a worry-wart and send him back to bed. Zane at least understood. Nobody really talked about it, but it wasn't exactly a secret that the bird has had his fair share of bad nights. Like probably tonight now that Kai thought about it.

"I was thinking on going for a walk, would you like to accompany me?" Zane broke the silence as he finished his mug.

"Sure, why not." Kai desperately wanted to go for more of a, run until you can't stand anymore™

Both Hybrids made sure to bind back their animal traits before going out of the Bounty. Even though it was 3 am they couldn't take any chances, not in the city that never sleeps.

They just took the sidewalk, not really having any destination in mind. Of course, the streets were never empty, even at 3 am, there were cars driving to and from. Not many people were out on the sidewalks, but every so often a citizen would pass by. Unintentionally they had wandered into the "ghetto" part of town, subconsciously scouting for crime. It was ninja instinct.

The whole time they were out, neither of them said a word. Instead they just listened to the many sounds of the city.

Kai's ear twitched from underneath his hood as he picked up on a faint scream a few blocks from here. Zane must have heard the loud shriek too, because the both looked at each other, nodded, and ran off towards the direction of the distress.

Arriving at the scene, Kai and Zane quickly observed the situation. There was a young lady with her dog, cornered in an alley. A few street punks with bats and crowbars were surrounding her, insisting she give them her purse. A simple robbery, something that could be quickly dealt with. However, the one concern Zane had was the man in front. He was holding a gun fixated to the woman's head. One wrong move and someone could end up in a morgue tonight.

Zane and Kai both were hiding in the shadow of the building, while sneaking up to the group of muggers.

"Please! I didn't do anything wrong- I'll give you everything I have please just let me go!" The woman cried out, terror laced in her voice.

Kai doesn't remember exactly why but this triggered something in his memory. The scene was suddenly different, and the young lady was now a teen hybrid back from his village, and the gang were the hunters who invaded and took everything from him.

Something snapped in Kai and rage consumed him. He shot off from his hiding place using his claw to slash one of the muggers across the face.

The young woman being robbed cried out again in terror hugging her small dog closer to her chest, while the muggers turned their attention to Kai.

Zane jumped out from the shadows now as well, Kicking the nearing one in the chest, sending him flying into a brick wall. Another one came at him with a crowbar, only for Zane to duck under the swing and punch him in the gut.

Kai was fighting brashly, clawing at one's neck before throwing him over the wolf's shoulder. The one that Zane had kicked got back up and rushed at the wolf hybrid with a baseball bat. Kai met him head-on punching right through the bat, shattering it into splinters. The look of absolute terror that had flashed over the mugger's face, before Kai punched it, was amusing to him.

Right when Kai was about to turn around to help Zane with his portion, the sharp "BANG' of a gunfire erupted from behind him.

A pain that blossomed in his shoulder sent Kai to the ground, as he could make out the sound of a gun hitting the floor.

Zane kicked the weapon out of the criminal's hands, then jumped up on his shoulders, using a sort of wrestling move to bring him to the ground hard and fast. The mugger disgruntled from hitting his head on the concrete, was then swiftly jabbed in the neck with two fingers precisely to hit the nerve that knocked him out.

Kai was sitting himself up, holding his shoulder, where he knew he'd been hit.

"Kai are you alright?" Zane asked softly making sure there were no more hidden threats

"Yeah... yeah it just grazed me. I'll be fine." Kai grunted as he stood up and looked around at the 4 muggers that were all unconscious on the ground. He grimaced a little bit when he saw how torn up two of their faces were. He hadn't meant to go so brutal on them...

"Ma'am are you injured?" Zane then asked the woman who was still looking in shock.

"N... No.. I-" She stuttered out "You.. Saved me.. T-Thank you..."

Zane then retrieved the woman's purse from the floor and handed it to her. "Call the police, they will take care of them" He gestured to the unconscious men on the floor. "And then get you home safely."

"R-right!" The woman fumbled for the phone in her purse quickly dialing 9-1-1. She looked up again, stunned to see the two mysterious people who saved her life disappeared without a trace.

Kai grunted as Zane tightened the gauze around his shoulder. "Geez man, ease up will ya?"

"My apologies." Zane muttered as he got out the medical tape and secured the gauze. "This should be healed within a week or so. You are lucky the bullet didn't go into your shoulder."

Kai just nodded absent-mindedly. They were both sitting in what the team liked to call the 'medical ward' Really it was just a corner in Jay's workshop where they kept the first aid kit. It was almost 6:00 in the morning and the sun was slightly shining through the window next to them. The rest of the ship was still asleep, the only sound being Zane rustling through the first aid kit every now and then to finish dressing his wound.

"So..." Zane started packing up the kit as he finished. "What was that all about?"

"Which part?" Kai huff out a laugh. "The clawing a dude's face off, or getting shot in the shoulder?"

"Let's just start with the first one."

"Eh... Just for a second there... I thought I was somewhere else." Kai hopped off the table where he was sitting and picked up a new shirt that Zane had brought him. The old one had to be thrown away, as it was now torn and stained with his and probably a few other people's blood. "I'm not sure what triggered it... Just the way that girl was so helpless... Made me mad I guess"

"You know Nya is going to be very worked up about this." Zane pointed out as Kai struggled a bit to get his shirt on without tearing the stitches.

"Don't remind me." Kai scoffed out. "She worries too much."

"Maybe for a good reason." Zane argued softly.

"Oh God not you too." Kai sighed.

"Kai, she was younger than you, she doesn't remember it like you do." Zane took some disinfectant and wiped down the table where some blood had dripped. "She will never understand unless you let her."

"I don't need anyone to understand."

"You can't keep doing this to yourself. Your botting everything up until it over-flows. Then you lash out, open up just a tad, then slam shut again and continue acting like everything is fine."

"Everything **IS** fine." Kai growled, his ears perking forward.

Zane simply raised an eyebrow and gave Kai a look.

"It happened years ago. This shouldn't be bugging me." Kai sighed and finally slid back down onto a stool by one of Jay's many work tables.

"You need closure, Kai." Zane said, and continued when he received a confused look from Kai. "You feel guilty, you think it's your fault. You never actually talked out how you feel with Nya, because your scared that she'd agree."

"Maybe she should agree." Kai didn't meet Zane's eyes. "I promised to keep her safe-"

"And you did."

"She still got hurt. Our parents are still gone." Kai's tail twitched nervously. "And I just stood there and let it happen"

"Kai you were six." Zane reasoned. "There was nothing you could have done for them."

When Kai didn't answer Zane continued. "You did what you could, and Nya is still with us because of it."

It was silence for a few minutes as the falcon finished cleaning up. "You should go talk to her. It makes her sad when she sees you like this."

After a minute Kai finally nodded. His throat felt tight and dry. He didn't want his baby sister to be sad, but he also didn't want her to worry. He figured he might as well get it over with, Zane was right, if he kept bottling things up like this he was bound to break eventually. He might as well decide to do it on his own terms.

"I'm going to go start on breakfast. I'm sure Sensei will understand if you and Nya skip training today." Zane got up and silently left, leaving Kai alone to his thoughts.

Kai paused for a second before bringing his hand up all the way and knocking softly on the door in front of him.

"Just a second!" Nya's voice was muffled behind the large wooden door and instantly Kai regretted this. She sounded like she was in a good mood today, he couldn't ruin that. Kai was about to walk away when the door swung open and the fox hybrid revealed herself, already dressed and hair combed for the day.

As soon as Nya's eyes met Kai's her bright smile fell into worry. "Kai what's wrong?"

"Actually, this is a bad time, I'll just come back later." Kai swiftly muttered out before trying to walk away. He ruined everything... look how happy she was today... those bright smiles are rare now-a-days.

"Kai!" Nya grabbed his arm before he could even take a step away from the door. She pulled him into her clean and organized room and closed the door. "Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, everything-" Kai paused for a second. "No... It's not. I know that now."

Nya looked at him with a sad smile before steering her brother over to her bed where they both sat.

Kai simply just hugged Nya and poured out all the anguish he had felt for years. Even when he had stopped talking they just sat there in each other's embrace.

Of course, it had gone exactly as Zane said it would. Nya refused to believe everything was his fault, Even gave him a bop on the head for it. Nya gave Kai the reassurance he never knew he needed.

After their long talk Kai felt like a huge weight had been lifted off his chest. He felt... happy.

After sitting on the bed for a while, the sibling's dried their tears and went out to the dining room for breakfast, or at least whatever was left of it.

To their surprised everyone was actually still in the Dinning room by the time they go there. And Zane had shoo'd Cole away from the pancakes he saved for them.

"Morning sleeping beauty." Cole huffed out in amusement before shoving another forkful of pancake into his mouth.

"Joke's on you I haven't slept since Tuesday." Kai laughed, with Nya elbowing him as they both sat down at the table.

Conversation at the table went on like usual, Jay babbled on about some project he was working on, while Cole and Zane gave their input every so often. Kai just watched on with a genuine smile.

While Zane was trying to explain why copper wouldn't work for his conductive to Jay, Cole turned towards Kai.

"Somethin's different about you today..." Cole gave an approved smile. "You look happy, Kai."

Kai huffed out a laugh. "Actually feel happy this time too."

"What are these secrets we are sharing over here." Jay said in a mocking whisper to mimic the way Cole and Kai were speaking. "Something that Nya wouldn't approve of?"

"Hey!" Nya wacked the back of Jay's head.

"What? No." Cole smiled in amusement. "Definitely not about that time Kai set a clothing rack in JCPenney's on fire."

"YOU WHAT?!" Nya turned towards Kai.

"It was fine! I even payed for the clothes that got damaged!" Kai shrugged while stuffing a pancake into his mouth. Dang these were good.

"So, what about the time Kai fell off the roof cause he was trying to do the worm for a tik tok?" Jay asked.

"Kai!" Nya shouted again in disbelief as everyone laughed.

"It went viral, the dislocated arm was worth it." Kai laughed at all the fond 'don't tell Nya' memories.

"Please, I don't think anything could beat the time he fell into the cheetah exhibit at the zoo during that field trip." Zane let out a tiny laugh as Cole buckled over in laugher. One of the kids recorded all of it and that one went viral too. How did Nya not know about these?

"A cheetah seriously?" Nya pressed two fingers to her temple as if she had a headache, but she was still smiling. "Anything else you wanna tell me?"

"I got shot in the shoulder last night while Zane and I stopped some lady from getting mugged." Kai said casually as he took another bite of his syrup covered pancakes.

The entire dinning room went silent for a spit second.

" **YOU WHAT?!** "

Sensei wu laughed fondly from his room, right bellow the dining room as he heard the eruption of laughter through the floor. Today was a day of healing for one of our ninja, perhaps he could let them all skip training... just this once.

A/N: also sorry no artwork for this one, not yet at least. I'm just really busy right now and I'm working on a ton of other stuff. That's probably why this one isn't my best work either. Really sorry guys :')

Anyways feel free to leave me prompts and stuff I sometimes don't follow them exactly but they always give me lots of ideas! :D


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